With a slight incline, Zoukar scrutinized the chamber from the entrance. He squinted his eyes and then said, "We can attract the whole ant army if we can somehow blaze this chamber filled with their beloved offspring."
An intense gaze and a smile crept onto Zoukar's face as he glanced at Kazuma and the ants. He was ready to cut the corners on this strategy. Even Kazuma had shivers down his spine.Zoukar snorted and commanded, "Astroth, you have to smolder this chamber into ashes and bits while I'll distract the soldiers and worker ants with my magic.""Huh! At last, he'll show me something worthwhile. Let me see what magic he can display to distract those monsters," Kazuma hummed and chuckled.Zoukar pointed to the eggs and said, "Swiftly go and do the deed when you find the opening."He closed his eyes and concentrated the mana around his skulled staff. Don't know how, but Kazuma could also feel the mana concentration increasing around Zoukar, maybe due to him being a beast or whether that was the cause of his recent emergence in the said field of mana.Zoukar invoked his magic and a deadly aura shrouded him to the deepest, most threatening extent. That was way different from what Kazuma felt from his magic. Zoukar's magic was dark and deadly, but the one Kazuma usually invoked until now had warmth and destruction.Zoukar chanted something and invoked, "[Summon Undead]."Suddenly, a lot of undead skeleton soldiers rose from the ground with rusty weapons and cheap armor in their hands. They had the same dark aura as Zoukar invoked, but Kazuma never felt a bit of living energy from them.The skeletons were aloof and dead. Nothing else!"Are these the skeleton soldiers I saw and read about in novels? Necromancers summon these creatures a lot and reign havoc on the living. I thought he was just a boasting freak. If he can summon an undead army, then he could be a threat to everyone else. How are black magicians living in this world? Do they stay hidden or maybe people don't care?'' Kazuma mulled it over.Zoukar resumed to his skeletons, "Go and cause havoc in the chamber, fight and destroy all you see before you!"Those skeletons turned to face the chamber and marched slowly as Zoukar directed. Cackling their bony jaws and peculiar limbs, they moved forward towards the ants. The lot of noise they make refers to their impractical use in sneak attacks."That must be why he said he could attract attention and grant me an opening. However, if he can use this type of magic, then why does he need me? Aren't skeleton soldiers enough of an army to fight the numerous ants," Kazuma contemplated?Even with all these thoughts jumbling and striking his head, Kazuma still paid attention to the fight between the skeleton soldiers and the ants. As the undead marched toward the ants, their loud noises startled the ants.Those ants turned towards the incoming barrage of bony soldiers conjured by Zoukar. The ants' crackled from their mouths with many sharp teeth. Anyone could notice their rage and anger towards the invading enemies.Those ants crackled with red blood and red eyes. with frenzy and animosity. The whole bunch of ants in attendance roared. The black worker ants backed off to defend the eggs while the red ones raised their pointy tentacles and limbs to pierce through the enemies.Meanwhile, Zoukar began his blabbering once again, "With [summon undead], you can conjure a small army of undead soldiers. The more you summon and control simultaneously, the more energy must be spent. You do not need corpses to summon this undead, which is conjured by our magic.""Oh! Sounds like some astonishing magic! I ponder whether I could even one day use a different type of element. He never mentions what different elements are there in this world," Kazuma speculated.He even contemplated Zoukar's habit of blurting out the necessary details whenever he needed them. Kazuma considered the fact maybe Zoukar knew about his consciousness stuck in the beast he named Astroth, but given Zoukar's personality, he would be dead if his identity was revealed.Zoukar resumed his blabber, "If you ask why I need a flame element companion even after having such a compelling undead element, then you may realize that fact after watching the fight between my soldiers and ants."Kazuma stared at Zoukar for a moment since he had the same arguments striking his head. However, Zoukar blurted out whatever Kazuma wanted to know. With a slight chuckle, he glanced back at the chamber and turned in the same direction.The ants clashed with the skeleton soldiers, crackling and rattling their way through them. That was a clash between monsters, one living, and the other undead. Zoukar’s skeleton summons raised their weapons to strike at the ants, but their attempt got interrupted by the red ant appendages.Even though skeleton soldiers had enough numbers on their side, the ants had tough exoskeletons and sharp weapons. The skeleton soldiers struck hard and repeatedly, but all in vain since their rusty and weak weapons couldn't pierce the ants' natural armor.Sensing this weakness of the skeleton soldiers, all the ants crackled as if chortling with their hearts and mocking their enemies. They grabbed the skeleton soldiers with their firm and sharp jaws, gradually ripping the undead.With a frenzy of anger, these ants crushed and dismantled the undead skeleton before them. That fight turned into a lost cause within a few moments. Even with the number of undead, ants' might and strength reign over them.That scenario was something Kazuma never expected when Zoukar summoned his undead, although one could tell the skeletons apart and their endurance was nothing more than a glance.Only their aura was threatening, not their body or skeleton!"I think I know now, that even if Zoukar tried to summon the undead, his mana would be exhausted before he even reached the queen. Is this what Zoukar meant by watching and learning why he had to summon me?'' Kazuma sighed in disappointment.He believed the undead element could reign over the living, but that wasn't the case all the time. Some environments could be tougher than one expects. That is another reason why people need a tank in fantasy games."Your time has come, Astroth. Go!" Zoukar snickered with a slight gaze on Kazuma.Kazuma glanced around and resolved to again dive into enemy territory. Although this whole dungeon was the ants' home, Kazuma and his so-called master black mage, Zoukar, invaded that home of theirs.However, their attempt wasn’t limited to invading; this time they were going to massacre ant offspring, who could rise against the enemies as workers or soldiers. With a deep sigh, Kazuma resolved his heart to steel over his next action.He stepped forward into the chamber while the ants were involved with Zoukar’s undead soldiers. A loud pumping sound could be heard from the tiny heart of his small reptile body. He swallowed as a chill trickled down his body.Gradually, he closed the distance between him and the eggs, but the black ants were still protecting the eggs with their lives. Someone had to attract the attention of those ants for Kazuma to use his trick.As if Zoukar realized what he was doing, he summoned more of his undead and directed them at the black ants. Meanwhile, the re
While Zoukar chuckled hysterically, Kazuma felt nauseous and repugnant watching the massacre he brewed on the orders of an insane mage. However, he understood such events would be a common occurrence if he had to live with Zoukar and survive his insanity.In his reverie, he heard the loud shriek of those burning ants left in the blazing fire. That scream echoed in the whole dungeon cave. That sound startled Kazuma and even Zoukar to some extent.With a hurried concerned voice, Zoukar exclaimed, "Shit! Even in that heat, these giant shitty ants could transmit their intentions far to their kin. We have to run and hide before the terrible ant waves march on us and smash us down their limbs!"Zoukar swallowed after completing his sentence and gave a short glance at Kazuma. The upcoming fight even frightened him, or he had already seen what was about to come after hearing the cries of the burning ants.Suddenly, some rumbling began in the dungeon, and the whole cave shuddered. That tremble
Zoukar invoked some magic while grabbing Kazuma with his hand. He stuck to the cave wall as firmly as one could. Zoukar prepared Kazuma to feel stuffy in that congested setting. Yet Kazuma had no idea what and why Zoukar's behavior meant.Still, he had some inkling that Zoukar had not planned to abandon him yet. However, his breath stuck in his throat when the cave shook more fiercely than before. That trembled Kazuma's heart, and he let out a squeal in that state.Unfortunately, this fickle sound enraged Zoukar, and he clenched Kazuma's neck tightly. He gradually tightened his grip and whispered in his ears, "You bastard, are you trying to make us all die here by the horde? If I hadn't invested much in you, then I may have thrown you out as bait. Shut your trip and watch that."Kazuma tried to endure the choking and glanced at the cave. He noticed some mana around them, maybe some shield or something else, but he also noticed some shadows or silhouettes of something coming towards th
Kazuma and Zoukar marched forward in the dungeon cave to subjugate the queen ant while Kazuma kept contemplating the dangers Zoukar told him about in his self-talk. The queen guards, according to Zoukar, are the most ferocious in this dungeon, even more so than the queen ant herself.As they moved forward, the loud noises from the back chamber echoed and gradually faded to where that horde moved to. Kazuma still remembered the horror of that ants' wave howling in strange voices. He still shivered.But Zoukar and Kazuma were faster than before until the noises faded from their ears, yet the threat persisted, so they walked cautiously with each step. Zoukar moved with his mouth shut all the while, and Kazuma felt that was the weirdest part.The man who never stops blabbering some nonsense and some valuable information along with it was silent for so long as if he had a lot on his head. Kazuma had no inkling as to what Zoukar faced before summoning him or even how long he was here in thi
Zoukar and Kazuma yet again hid behind one of the cave corners with illusion magic. They sat together as Zoukar threw a monster carcass in front of Kazuma. The so-called spoiled and decayed food smelled even worse than shit itself.Kazuma felt nauseous and threw up, yet he couldn't even do that since his body had not consumed anything for a long time and he had nothing to eat after his summoning. Kazuma twitched his nose and sneezed a bit while coughing.He turned to Zoukar, who had some grains and meat jerky for himself. He tore the raw and tight jerky with his old molars, crunching some grains with it. He snorted with each bite as if it didn't taste good enough.Kazuma still found Zoukar’s food edible since he saw Zoukar eating it without vomiting, while Kazuma had to eat something outrageously bad, poor in odor, and must be worse in taste. Kazuma didn't even try to sniff the food; its odor was already spread all over the place.Zoukar snorted and rebuked, "Eat that stuff fast, or el
After a short rest, Kazuma and Zoukar set out to conquer the dungeon again. The moment Zoukar removed his illusion and barrier magic, they heard loud shrieks echoing all over the cave. Nobody could name which way those sounds sounded since they were coming from everywhere. They took a cautious step forward further into the dungeon, startled by their surroundings. The dark cave grew larger and larger the further they walked inwards or outwards. Kazuma had no inkling as to what and where he stood in the dungeon called Anthill.Kazuma knew nothing about whether the dungeon was something the same as what he read in the novels or something entirely else. The anthill could be a place many feet underground, or it could also be a giant mountain above the ground.This place could be anything. Kazuma realized it has many possibilities and, similarly, lots of dangers within it. Kazuma still only had a simple spell that could blaze fireballs from his mouth and nothing else. He wanted to learn new
"With this, we can definitely win through this predicament of battling the queen and her guards!" Zoukar exclaimed. He resumed, "This stone is called an 'elemental stone' and since it's red, this stone belongs to the flame element. These are usually hard to come by and contain some expensive magical spells that a person with a different elemental affinity can use. I found this stone in a dungeon similar to this one. It contains the flame level 2 spell [Conflagration], which surrounds the user with an aura of heat, combusting almost anything within proximity of the user. We also get a short-range fire blast that effectively incinerates anything close to the user."After a momentary laugh, Zoukar resumed, but this time his statement was directed at Kazuma. He said, "Oh! You must not know about the level of spells. Each primary level spell is required to learn a greater level spell. Every element has a series of such magic spells. Similarly, [Conflagration] is a successive spell of the pr
Although Kazuma thought Zoukar wouldn't notice, that was something too big for an established black magician to not even feel slightly. The sudden fluctuations of undead mana in the surroundings twitched his brows as he flinched while concentrating on the queen and her guards.Zoukar swiveled around to check whether something was off or if it was nothing but his delusion due to stress and tension. He looked everywhere, but he could only see the dark cave and a small familiar creature, Astroth. Other than these usual things, he found nothing strange, and that mana fluctuation faded from the surroundings.Zoukar's sudden turn startled Kazuma since he never expected Zoukar to pay him attention, at least not when Kazuma used an opportunity to trick Zoukar. Kazuma gazed at Zoukar with widening eyes and a frowning brow. He felt his blood turn cold and a shiver passed all over his spine.Kazuma swallowed and contemplated with a frightened gaze, "Did he find out about my theft? Will he begin t